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So in all, great stealth coupled with awesome voice acting and background score packaged with an amazing end to the Bioshock Infinite story line, we get a true masterpiece and a fitting end to Irrational Games, the studio that was. As long as we are talking about Irrational Games and Ken Levine lets assume a moment of silence to grieve over their closing and to hope that 2K Marin takes the opportunity to create more awesome Bioshock games seriously. We at GD wish Ken Levine "infinite" success with his future story driven adventures.
Blizzard are asking for £29.99 ( ~ $40.00) for Reaper of Souls, which does seem like a lot, and for those that really weren't sold on the original, I would counsel them to give it another go now that all of the aforementioned patches have gone through before deciding to take the plunge with Reaper of Souls. That said, I had a lot of fun with it and shall probably be playing it for some time, as after a year-long Diablo hiatus I've been sufficiently pleased by the tweaks and enhancements that the developers have made to game to strongly recommend it.
As a testament to what can be done for the Metal Gear Solid series, Ground Zeroes is mouthwatering. The new Fox Engine holds up well, looking staggeringly good at times even on the Xbox 360 version. We know that The Phantom Pain is going to be many times bigger than this, so in a way it feels like a shame that this is such as slender portion of what is sure to be a fantastic fifth outing for the series. Ultimately though, it plays great and it's a fantastic game, marred by a lack of content that will leave some players understandably feeling short-changed. Some people will be quick to blurt out to them that they're playing it wrong, but I think that misses the point. We all approach games in different ways and for different reasons, and for some this will be an offensively abrupt experience, while others will burrow deep and try to uncover all of Camp Omega's secrets.
While perhaps a little derivative, it's all simple to learn, beautifully presented, and with enough detail and variety to keep fantasy buffs engaged for a long time. Age of Wonders feels like it's back to stay, in all its beardy, D20-throwing glory.
If you're a fan of the inFamous series then there's really nothing to lose in playing this. For those new to it, inFamous: Second Son marks a fantastic entry point, and without prior knowledge of the games before it will in all likelihood be amazed.
As an example of the purest gameplay Luftrauser's is almost unparalleled, but the almost total absence of mission structure of plot means that, unfortunately, it won't be everyone. For those craving a pick up and play arcade classic though, it's hard to go wrong with a spot of 'Rausers.
Just as in the previous story, Dragonfall consumed my imagination for the whole time I was playing it. When it was done, I missed the characters and wanted it to continue. That is perhaps the ultimate sign of a well-told story. As a game, it's pretty good – balanced, challenging combat that calls for a variety of tactics to respond to different situations; viable paths for combat fans, mages and even charisma-junkies; plenty of relevant activities to keep the player engaged during non-combat 'downtime'. But as a story – a piece of interactive fiction that takes a substantial corpus of existing source material and spins an engrossing yarn about power, betrayal, revenge, duty, family and loyalty – it is a supreme work.
Titanfall doesn't offer enough game to replace your COD or Battlefield of choice, and you can immediately tell it was made by the same bunch of dudes that created Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Titanfall is comfort food for FPS gamers. Titanfall is ultimately an evolution rather than the promised revolution and at that price… well, wait for a price drop and you'll get a fun game and not feel had.
The Walking Dead: Episode Two rushes into a tense and nicely orchestrated climax, and although your interaction is limited to a couple of moral decisions, it's still a nail-biting finale. If you didn't like the cliffhanger finish to the first episode, you'll like the second episode's conclusion even less. And after that mighty wait, we feel a little shortchanged with the not-quite-one-and-a-half-hours of playtime. Let's just hope that Episode 3: In Harm's Way comes along a little quicker, and the story can hold up to this promising beginning.
For those of you picking up the console versions in a territory where the censorship stick has been whipped out, have no fear that you're missing out on too much. The five scenes of anal probing, as well as the abortion minigames, are still hilarious in their delivery. Slight spoilers below, but you can check out for yourself the differences between the two versions.
Above all else, the game is fun and it has a lot of promising things going for it, but for some reason it seems to have failed in capturing the audience it was looking for.
The Lego Movie Videogame will certainly fill its niche well, and will undoubtedly prove hours of fun for kids, especially those who have seen and liked the film. It's colourful and appealing, with the usual excellent provision for co-op play and enough mini games and collectibles to fill out the game around the film's plot. For those who have been fans of earlier Lego titles, however, this iteration will surely feel just that little more rushed and that bit less polished that we have come to expect.
Overall, Blackguards is a fun, tactical time waster with a throwaway fantasy RPG plot that does nothing new.
Over the course of this review it became clear to me that unlike the majority of video games, Outlast is in no way designed to be fun. For me at least, it was an ordeal, something I felt compelled to go through but I had no idea why. It is oppressive and morbid, maniipulating common fears of imprisonment, isolation and madness. From the moment you step out of your car at the beginning you will yearn to get back in it and scramble away to safety. I guess at least that's the very aim of horror. Outlast is memorable and gripping, but Outlast is also guilty of being a one-trick pony with little to offer beneath its terrifying surface. Once you've blasted through it once there really is no need to revisit it, the curtain's been pulled back and the puppeteers at work are laid bare for all to see.
Smoke and Mirrors is a fine piece of story-telling, and retains all the positive elements I outlined in my review of Episode One, along with a slightly more regular frame rate and shorter loading times on my PC.
Octodad: Dadliest Catch offers a short, good value and entertaining romp that should satisfy those looking for something a little different.
Broken Age Act One is short and far too easy, and the worst part is, after smacking us with a 'bloody hell, didn't see that one coming' ending, we now have to wait for Act Two to stroll along before we can finally finish the game. If you hate cliffhangers you may even wish to wait until the second half is available. However, the fact that we still massively enjoyed our time with Act One, and can't wait to pick up the story's finale, proves that Mr Schafer has once again produced a stunning little gem.
This isn't a package made for those who've already explored Yamatai, this is for those first setting foot into Lara's adventure. For them it's an essential purchase, for everyone else it really doesn't matter.
Fun to play, certainly, but it's the same fun you'd get from pretty much any game in the series.
And so if you can accept M&M for what it is, a fairly ugly fantasy RPG that sticks to the classic dungeon crawler formula, then you're likely to find a hearty dose of cheesy story and quick to pick up combat, that comes with just enough layers of strategy to keep it fun and varied without being overly complicated. Games in this old style genre do not come along very often, but when done correctly can hold your attention for many hours. M&M X Legacy is a pretty good example of this just dont expect Skyrim quality emersion. Skyrim is £14.99 at the moment, with thousands of awesome mods. Just saying.